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Evidence of live export cruelty in Israel

TONY EASTLEY: Australia's multi-billion dollar live export industry is again under scrutiny this morning.

Last night's 7.30 program on ABC TV showed harrowing pictures of animals being mistreated at the largest abattoir in Israel.

The meatworks does slaughter Australian cattle and the Federal Department of Agriculture is investigating where the animals shown in the video came from.

Martin Cuddihy reports.

(Sound of cattle screaming)

MARTIN CUDDIHY: What you're listening to is the result of an electric prod being continually used on a cow.

(Sound of cattle)

The animal appears to have a broken leg and won't move.

It's in the Bakar Tnuva abattoir in Israel.

Animal rights activist and vegan Ronen Bar posed as a meat worker to get the footage.

RONEN BAR: These are the regular procedures. It's not- What was shown is not something special or something that is not everyday regularity.

MARTIN CUDDIHY: There's now a criminal investigation underway in Israel and the meatworks has suspended the employees involved.

The Federal Department of Agriculture is also investigating to see if the cattle being mistreated are from Australia.

Activist Ronen Bar told 7.30 he believes at least some of the cattle are from Australia.

RONEN BAR: Some of the cattle I filmed, there are ear tags and it says AUS, Australian. Also the workers told me that the cows are Australian.

MARTIN CUDDIHY: Australia exports close to a million tonnes of beef every year, worth about $4.5 billion.

The president of the National Farmers Federation is Jock Laurie.

JOCK LAURIE: We are making incremental steps. We're getting better and better all the time and that'll continue to happen. This supply chain assurance scheme, or ESCAS as it's called, is aimed to make sure that we continue to progress to a welfare standard that's acceptable on the world stage.

MARTIN CUDDIHY: This abattoir passed an audit two months before the footage was taken. What does that say about the auditing process?

JOCK LAURIE: Oh look, I think the auditing process may well be alright but there might be things that have happened outside the auditing process that aren't right and they're the things that we have to fix.

MARTIN CUDDIHY: Australia's export supply chain assurance system, or ESCAS, means animals must be treated in accordance with standards set by the World Organisation for Animal Health.

The abattoir in question was audited just two months before the footage was taken.

A statement from the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry says the initial audit establishes only whether the supply chain can meet Australia's regulatory requirements.

JOCK LAURIE: The new system that's been put in place is a very proactive approach, to the extent that we've gone into markets and basically said 'If you are not prepared to operate under the rules that the Australian community, the Australian Government and the industry would like then you don't get access to the stock'.

So it's very important that the exporters themselves work with those meat processors and make them realise that if they want Australian stock then they've got to abide by those standards.

MARTIN CUDDIHY: The Federal Agriculture Minister Joe Ludwig is somewhere in Queensland and unavailable for an interview. However, he did provide a statement to AM:

EXTRACT FROM STATEMENT FROM JOE LUDWIG: We expect international animal welfare standards be met and are the only country in the world to require these standards be applied for the animals we export. This investigation is only possible because of the Exporter Supply Chain Assurance System now in place.

MARTIN CUDDIHY: The department has contacted Australian exporters to ensure welfare requirements will be met in all future consignments of livestock to Israel.

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